What If You Designed Mobile First?

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One of the things I get to do is teach a course for Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science on Web Development and Information Architecture. And, one of the things we talk more and more about in that class is developing a library web presences for a mobile environment. This summer the class is even reading a book titled Mobile First.

The thing is, designing for mobile isn’t just something to think about for library websites. It’s something to think about when planning programs, services, and collections that tend to be face-to-face but could really have an on-the-road or on-a-device aspect. For example:
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Report from Annual 2011: Trends in YA Services – Using Mobile Devices to Serve Teens

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panelists from left to right Jack Martin, Kerrilynn Hurley, Jennifer Velasquez, Enjoli Gilbert, Courtney Beamer, Renee McGrathThis panel could be called, A Fun Time Was Had By All. Not only did audience members learn a lot about teens and mobile devices, but it looked like most of the audience members were fully engaged and entertained. The panel was made up of a group of energetic speakers that included two teens from the Patrick F. Taylor Science Academy in Jefferson Parish, LA, who let panelists and audience members know exactly what teens are looking for from mobile devices and from libraries working in the mobile world.

The panel got started with a presentation from Jennifer Velasquez, Coordinator of Teen Services for the San Antonio Public Library System. Jennifer focused on the “lay of the land” when it comes to teens and mobile device use. She provided audience members with some very compelling statistics about how teens are using devices for texting, talking, and viewing. Read More →

At Annual Talking About Teens That Are Digital and Mobile

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Two YALSA programs at Annual Conference are geared to helping librarians think about and plan for how to connect with teens within the mobile and digital reading environments.

On Sunday, June 23, from 1:30 to 3:30, YALSA will sponsor the program Teens Reading Digitally Going Handheld and Mobile. The focus of the program is on how teens read, write, and learn using digital devices. Speakers include:
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2010 Technology Recap

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As the recent post on the YALSA Blog, A Time to Reflect, noted, the end of the year is always a time to think about the past twelve months. As I tend to have technology as a focus in my life, I’ve been thinking a lot about what has happened in the technology realm in 2010. I’ve also been thinking about what I’ve seen in libraries as it relates to technology and teens. Here are some things bubbling in my head:

  • Video: Streaming video really took off this year with stories almost daily about new and improved services. NetFlix launched a streaming only subscription plan and made its instant queue available for viewing on mobile devices. Hulu Plus launched as a way for users of that service to access content on mobile devices. And, gaming consoles began to be used more and more as entertainment systems.

    Something else I’ve noticed this year is that more librarians are using video contests as a way to connect with teens. This is great as many teens are interested in producing and creating video content. However, I have one caveat for my peers. Video is not the end-all and be-all to connecting with teens. I do worry that some librarians are looking at video contests as the silver bullet for meeting teen technology needs and for integrating technology into programs and services. Please don’t. I actually think YALSA’s Why I’m a Member contest is a perfect example of how video can be used with a target audience as one way to connect. It’s not the only way, it’s one way. Read More →

Living in the Cloud

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Lately I’ve had a few computer malfunctions in my life. The laptop I used for work was stolen, and the hard drive on my computer at home had a crash that even spin rite couldn’t fix. I lost some documents I was currently working on, but thankfully I’d been saving most of my important documents to a shared work drive. Since these debacles I’ve been making sure I save in multiple places and even invested in a service called Mozy to back up my files at home.

I wanted to share with you what tools I’ve been using to help offset another computer disaster:
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